NEW YORK FIFTY YEARS SINCE.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 273, 4 June 1866, Page 2

NEW YORK FIFTY YEARS SINCE.

The New York Times publishes a. curious contribution — a journeyman priuter's recollections of that city half a century ago. " New York," he writes, " was at that time a compact city. Brooklyn was an inconsiderable-village; the only mode of crossing was by row-boats. -Jen ey ifcy was ' nowhere.' There was no omuioas lines, no railways, and I believe no hacks. We took our time in those days ; no body was fast. The City Hotel was the only first-class house in that line of business. Hotel fare was substantial, but plain. There was a general prejudice against French* cooking. Port and brown s herry (pale sherry rarely seen) were - good, and Madeira delicious. Champagne ° was just coming in, and comparatively little known ; it was warmed before drinking! The customs and habits of New York were much more simple than they are now; there was infinitely less wealth less luxury, less cultivation, and less, refinement." There were comparatively few temptations. There were no ' hells,' no gin palaces, no saloons, no clubs. Men 1 lived at home. The Park Theatre and Scudder's Museum were the only places of amusement. In the Park Theatre the staple of the audience was furnished year after year by the same families ; in the same boxes the same faces wovld be ever present. Contoit's G-arden had just been opened. A public garden with lights, seats, lemonade, and ice cream was new. Even ' porter houses,' as now constituted were almost unkown. It was at a porter _ house at the corner of Fulton street that the first introduction of newspapers for general reading took place. New York was a more economically governed city than it is now ; there was a much higher sense of official responsibility, and municipal honors were conferred on men of high standing and chai*aeter. The standard has been lowered by universal suffrage. It may interest the ' craft ' to know something of the condition of the press half a century ago. My employment here as a journeyman commenced in May, 1815, with Van Winkle and Wiley, who printed Cobbett's WeeJcly Register. I contrived to take proof sheets to that great English lladical, and got up a somewhat familiar acquaintance with the grey-eyed and always grey-dressed man, and learnt from him much about the leading statesmen of England. I was after wards, with Jonathan Seymour, and was employed on the then great enterprise of publishing Scott's Family Bible ; ' on that work I had James Harper, now the senior of the great publishing house, : as my partner. Nothing was known in " those days of ten or eight hours' systems; we worked 13 hours a day. An incident will show the capacity of leading houses at that time. William Mercien for whom I worked in 1817, bad an order to reprint with all haste " Lalla Rookh," of which a single copy had been received in advance by a ship from London. All was astir. The ' cases ' were manned night and day ; presses running constantly ; binders were reinforced, and for once, strong Methodist as he was, Mr Mercein, ignored the Sabbath. And on the tenth day, Lalla Rookh in boards made its appearance. This was regarded as an achieyeinent. The Harpers would do it now in 2& hours. Wonderful changes have been wrought in daily journals. There were then two morning papers, the Gazette and the Mercantile. The Gazette rarely contained more than a column and a half of reading matter, and the Mercantile was not much better ; but were stupid and barren of all interest except for their ship news and advertisements. The two - evening papers, the Post and Commercial, were edited with ability. The Columbian was semi-weekly. The Mercantile had. the largest circulation, which I think "was less ; than 2,500. There was not in the whole city as much press power and capacity as is now operating subteraneously beneath the sidewalk in front of the Times office, while thousands pass over it unconcious of its whereabouts. Of all who were connected with the daily press of that time, I believe the only survivor is Mr Francis Hall, of the Commercial, with half a dozen of the then journeymen. For myself I had always had good situations, was habitually industrious, drank no beer, and earnedfrom lOdol. to 12dol. a week, most of. which, after paying board, went for tickets at the Park Theatre. Mechanics, clerks, &c, paid three dol. a week' for board.